HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Blairsville bounces back in sweep

Second-place Blairsville played solid defense, amassed 29 hits and kept its hopes alive for a conference title by sweeping United, 17-0 and 18-3, in a Heritage Conference baseball doubleheader Wednesday in Armagh.

“We just weren’t mentally prepared for our last few games,” Blairsville coach Mark Zerfoss said of the Bobcats’ losses to Homer-Center on Monday and Penns Manor on Tuesday. “The bus ride to United was quiet, and all they thought about was what they had to do in this game, and that seemed to work.”

In Game 1, the Bobcats cranked out a season-high 17 hits and scored nine runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead that proved more than enough.

Scott Thompson went 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs to pace Blairsville. Bubba Seitz went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Cameron Livingston singled and doubled, Max Hrebik finished 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs, and Anthony Faulk singled twice.

Josh Daugherty struck out one and walked one in two innings to get the win. Daugherty also doubled and drove in two runs.

Kolt Jarvis singled twice for the Lions.

Blairsville committed no errors, allowed four hits and plated a season-best 18 runs to win a blowout in Game 2.

Livingston went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored, freshman Ryan Shirley singled twice and drove in four runs, and Thompson went 2-for-2. Faulk singled and scored three times, and Ricky Shirley singled, scored three runs and drove in two runs.

Daugherty, who singled and scored three runs, struck out one and walked none in two innings and picked up his second win of the day.

NORTHERN CAMBRIA 12, PENNS MANOR 0: Northern Cambria inched closer to clinching the conference title and outhit Penns Manor 10-2 to notch a win in a Heritage Conference game that was shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule.

Joe Olish tossed a three-hitter. Olish, who struck out nine, walked one and allowed three hits, also singled and scored three runs.

Joey Frontino finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs to lead the Colts. John Hornick went 2-for-2 with four runs scored and two RBIs, and Adam Weiland finished 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBIs.

INDIANA 6, KITTANNING 2: Indiana plated two runs in each of the first and fifth innings and scored its fifth win in six games with a victory over host Kittanning in a WPIAL non-section game.

Indiana used a hit and four errors to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

The Indians then extended their lead by scoring two runs on five hits in the top of the fifth to make it 5-0.

“We chipped away and scored a couple runs here and a couple runs there,” first-year Indiana coach Ryan Davies said. “Personally, I don’t mind seeing our offense produce like that. I’d rather spread the runs out than have them all come in one big inning.”

Danny Clark struck out four, walked one and allowed two hits and no runs in four innings to earn the win. Reliever Matt Griffith allowed two hits in two innings, and reliever Evan McAnulty struck out one in one inning of no-hit relief.

Blake Shields singled and doubled to power Indiana. Kevin Jack, Ryan Creps and Cole Shaffer banged out two singles apiece.

The Indians have won 11 of 14 games since losing four of their first five.

Indiana (12-7), which clinched the second seed in WPIAL Section 2-AAA on Tuesday, wraps up its regular season at Plum on Friday.

APOLLO-RIDGE 10, FORD CITY 0: Apollo-Ridge notched its third straight win and qualified for the playoffs by blanking host Ford City in a WPIAL Section 3-AA game that was shortened to six innings due to the mercy rule.

Apollo-Ridge (7-7, 7-5) won five of its last six games in the regular season to secure third place in the section and a berth in the playoffs.

Austin Laird struck out four and allowed six hits in a complete-game win. Laird also singled twice and drove in two runs.

Loren Wingard finished 4-for-4 with a triple and three runs scored for the Vikings. Brandon Neal went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Mike Percic singled and drove in two runs.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors today detained the head of the company that owns the ferry that sank last month over an allegation of cargo overloading.

Authorities believe improper stowage and overloading of cargo are one possible reason the ferry sank on April 16, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing. Four employees of the ferry’s owner, Chongha